Learning to Live
by jessicagreen
Summary: A series of humourous HPSS oneshots centered around the antics of our two favourite boys. Valentine's Day Ficlet Up! A Very Snarry Valentine's Day!
1. Snapshot in Time

Author - AlexandriaAmes (on the Hideaway)

Title - Snapshot in Time

Rating - PG 13

Summary – Harry tries to take a photo for their Anniversary

Pairing- HP/SS

Disclaimer – Characters belong to the fabulous JK Rowling, my goddess.

"Potter! May we please leave now?" Severus sighed exasperatedly and looked at his watch, "Our reservations are at 8pm!"

A green-eyed youth called out from the bedroom, "Coming, Sev!" as he hurriedly ran a comb through his unruly mop of hair. "Why won't you lie flat?" Harry moaned, trying in vain to tame his hair.

"Potter, you better not be trying to style your hair! We don't have all day!" the voice sounded again, managing to sound sarcastic and impatient at the same time.

Harry angrily threw the comb at the mirror and decided to give up. His hair would always look like a crow's nest, as Severus had dryly observed last week.

Severus turned around as he heard the door open.

FLASH!

"Are you trying to blind me on our anniversary, Potter?"

"No! I borrowed it from Colin! You know, for today!"

"Incendio!" Harry hastily dropped the camera as it burst into flames.

"I had to serve the Dark Lord, teach Longbottom potions and eat Albus' lemon drops. I have been through more than enough. You are NOT taking any pictures.

Harry looked at the pile of ash on the floor.

"You are so buying a camera for Colin."


	2. Sacrifice

Name on Hideaway – Alexandria Ames

Title – Sacrifice

Rating – PG 13

Pairing – HP/SS

Word Count – 1,334

Summary – Snape wants to read his Potions Quarterly but Harry wants to read, "Magical Mansions"………

A/N- Alternative Fic written for the Hideaway July Quill Contest.

It was a strangely quiet day, Severus Snape mused, in his quarters in the dungeons at Hogwarts. Strangely, because due to the recent invasion of a certain green-eyed Gryffindor, he had not been able to get any peace. Not that he particularly wanted the brat to leave, mind you. But he feels that he must make a token protest at the intrusion, welcome though it may be, into his life and his heart. At the moment however, even the grouchy Slytherin had no complaints. He was sitting in his comfy chair, reading the Annual Potions Quarterly and Potter was nowhere to be seen. Life was good.

"Sev! I got it!"

Although he really hadn't expected the relief to last, Snape couldn't help but let out a hiss of frustration. Potter, busily taking off his coat and boots and jabbering a mile a minute, didn't see this. Snape paid no attention to the mindless chatter but annoyingly observed how the boy carelessly threw said items on the floor. He opened his mouth to deliver a scathing remark on Potter's inability to pick up article's of clothing when the miscreant himself demanded he be heard, "Sev! I found it!"

Snape tore his gaze away from the untidy arrangement marring the otherwise spotless stone floor of his dungeons and focused his onyx eyes on Potter. The boy was holding a book of some size and looking at Snape expectantly. The older man scanned his memory, trying in vain to remember what the significance of this 'book' was. His search was fruitless. Meanwhile Potter was thrusting the accursed 'book' in his face.

"Sev! Don't you know what this is?"

Snape's face remained blank.

"How can you not know what this is, Sev? I've been talking about it for two weeks now!"

Ah. That explained his forgetfulness. He really didn't listen to what Potter was saying most of the time. After all, the boy did tend to prattle on about the most nonsensical things. His babble was not the most interesting thing about him. Although his mouth certainly was rather fascinating. But Snape wisely decided that now was probably not the best time to bring up that little tidbit. The boy was worked up enough already. So he settled for raising an eyebrow. Finally realizing that Snape was blissfully ignorant, Potter had the decency to clue him in, "It's the latest Magical Mansions Catalogue!"

The second eyebrow promptly joined the first one.

"Let me show you," the boy impatiently huffed out and then proceeded to settle down on the arm of Snape's chair. Tucking his mop of unruly jet black hair under Snape's chin, Potter pushed off the Potions quarterly onto the floor and rested the bulk of his weight against Snape.

This was not so bad, Snape thought, as he slipped his hand into Potter's and tangled his fingers in the locks. He had finally realized what the boy was talking about. They had been discussing refurbishing Godric's Hollow so that they could reside there during the holidays when both of them were not working at Hogwarts. Potter had gotten the job as DADA Professor after the war had climaxed.

Potter was warm against his side, he was close enough to smell the scent that was uniquely Harry and while the boy was harping on about his wretched book, he could read his Potions Quarterly. Snape's free hand reached for his book, while he let Potter's pointless babble wash over him….wait? Where was it? Where was the Potions Quarterly? Where was the…..Oh, there it was on the floor. ON THE FLOOR?

Potter had swept it there, Snape vaguely recalled. This was the last straw. The boy was going to have to face the wrath of Severus Snape, feared Potions master and King of Sarcastic Remarks. But…….the boy had been stressing on the point that Snape never listened to him and didn't care enough about him to take an interest in the house. If he were to protest now, the emotional Gryffindor would no doubt make a fuss over nothing. No, better not to say anything on the subject.

"Look, Sev, they've got everything in here!"

Perhaps if he slowly reached out and got it. Potter was much too distracted to notice him.

"Sev, will you kindly stop moving around? Oh, wow! Look at this beautiful bed! It's made out of real…."

Drat! The boy had caught on to his shifting. Maybe he could reach for his wand. Snape inched his hand towards his pocket. Potter however took this movement as a sign of interest and planted himself firmly in Snape's lap.

"Oh, the living room! What colours should we go for Sev? I'm rather partial to red and gold….."

No use reaching for his wand now, Snape thought. Well, he'd have to try wandless magic. Snape leaned forward slightly, his chin brushing the top of Potter's head, in order to get a better view of his neglected treasure.

"Sev, take a look at these carpet samples, will you?"

What? Oh, right, the boy was speaking to him. Snape painstakingly looked away from his tempting book and forced himself to concentrate on the………carpet samples? Merlin! CARPET SAMPLES? Potter really didn't expect him to pick out _carpet samples_? Judging by the eager look on the blasted brat's face he was.

"That one."

"The one at the end? But Sev, it's _pink_! I don't understand. Sev, are you listening to me?"

Snape nodded. "Oh good. Since you're not doing anything, we can go over the _entire _book together. Thanks Sev. You're the best," Potter leaned back and gave Snape a kiss right on his surly mouth. Snape promptly forgot why he was trying to get away from the boy in the first place. Oh, wait. His Potions Quarterly. On the floor. And Potter was preventing him from getting it.

"I can't wait Sev! I mean, it's not really about the house and the furniture and everything. It's more about…….well……," here Potter's voice broke off.

To Snape's horrification, Potter's eyes had welled up. Severus Snape had faced many things in life; A crazy Dark Lord, an equally if not more crazy Headmaster, Longbottom and a whole army of Weasleys but he was completely unprepared to deal with a lapful of sobbing Chosen One. The boy had ceased his page turning and was now staring at Snape with an unfathomable expression.

"It's more about the fact that I'll be living with _you._ And it'll be official. We'll be together and finally get our happily ever after. I realize I'm being a completely annoying prat about this Sev and I know that you're getting rather annoyed with………"

Potter never got to finish his sentence because Snape had lunged forward and collided their lips together in a warm, albeit salty (on account of the boy's tears), kiss. After a few minutes, Snape gently broke away from the kiss and lifted up Harry by the chin.

"It's fine, Harry. I understand," Snape hesitated but the look in Potter's beautiful emerald eyes drove him to continue his thought, "I confess, I am rather impatient as well."

The breathtaking smile that lit up Potter's face more than made up for him being so maudlin. It even made up for the hours of meaningless talk he had had to endure. And if Snape was honest with himself, he would gladly give up every moment of peace and quiet that he possessed for a few smiles from Harry. Because Severus Snape knew that he did not deserve someone so pure and good like Harry. He was not worthy to call Harry his. But he would spend every day for the rest of his life trying to be someone that Harry would not be ashamed to be with.

This was one sacrifice that Snape was more than happy to make. Forsaking his Potions Quarterly for Magical Mansions? Not even Harry Potter could induce him to make that kind of sacrifice.

"Harry, do you think I could read Potions Quarterly now? Please?"


	3. Harry and the Ipod  Part 1

Hey you guys! Another one shot coming at you! I came up with this one based on an idea that sailor Endless pitched in the Slytherin Common Room on the hideaway. I got a lot of story alerts and story favourites with this one but I only got TWO reviews. Now while I appreciate you adding me to story alert and favourite stories, I would really love a review cause they brighten my day. Just a simple "Nice" or "I liked it!" is more than enough! So PLEASE REVIEW!

Dedicated to Milly who's my best friend on the Hideaway and who sacrificed her Jurassic Park/Sims time to read my fics even though she doesn't ship HP/SS. LOL I love you, Silly Milly:P

_  
"I'll keep you my Dirty Little Secret………"_

Severus Snape's admittedly large, hooked nose peered over his Potions Quarterly. After a long discussion with Potter that had _somehow_ ended up in the bedroom, the boy had been persuaded (threatened) to go and mess around with his broom. The Firebolt, not his _other_ broom. No, only Snape got to mess around with _that._

So Snape had settled down on his comfy chair and proceeded to avidly devour each page of the fascinating (for him) book. Until he had been interrupted. Again. Bit this time it was not that bloody Gryffindor. But this interruption was surely linked to Potter in someway and therefore the boy's fault. Snape would stake his reputation as The King of Snark (which he was very proud of, thank you very much. No one else on the staff had made Longbottom cry as many times as _he_ had. Not even close!)

Perhaps it was not fair to blame it all on the brat. But Snape was not a just man. Besides, it was Potter's fault most of the time anyway. You could hardly blame Snape for playing the odds. Snape was wrenched out of his thoughts by the Mysterious Noise (Yes, it deserves capital letters!) again.

"_You are the only one that needs to know……."_

Ah ha! It was music. Music? Why was there _music _in his dungeons? It was not even _Slytherin _music (which is dreary and grim, similar to the funeral march) but it was sock music! No, wait, sock wasn't right. Lock? Tock? Mock? Rock? Yes! That was it! It was rock music! Snape dragged his wandering mind back to the present problem.

Why was there rock music playing in his dungeons? And more importantly, where in the name of Salazar _was it coming from_? Snape got up with a dignified flourish, gently placed his beloved (to him, anyway) Potions Quarterly down on the table and pulled out his wand. Right. Now to go look for the Mysterious Noise. Severus Snape, ex-Deatheater, ex-double agent for the Order, teacher of Neville Longbottom and _partner _of Harry Potter, The Boy Who Refuses To Die and Lives To Piss Me Off was just the man for the job.

He cautiously moved in direction of the kitchen. The Mysterious Noise died down. The source of the Mysterious Noise was obviously not in the kitchen. He tried his potions lab and the bathroom which turned up similar results. Only one place left to check. The bedroom.

"Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret…….."

Silently passing through the bedroom door, Snape soon discovered the location of the source of the Mysterious Noise. There _it _was, all innocent-like, half-buried under a pair of pants. _It _was a white metallic device, decidedly Muggle looking, small enough to fit into your palm and it was connected to two white snaky lines that ended in strange shaped knobs.

Snape didn't know what it was. Ignorance may be bliss but knowledge is power. And Snape was more of a powerful man than an ignorant man. So he trained his wand on it and quickly ran down a list of appropriate hexes on his mind.

"Hey, Sev! I'm back from fooling around with my broom! Are you done with your boring book yet? Cause I was thinking that maybe we could………Sev, what are you doing?"

Potter stood framed in the doorway, his skin glistening with a thin layer of sweat, his hair sticking up in all directions, his bright green eyes shining with curiousity.

"Um, Sev? What are you pointing your wand at?"

"Shush, Potter."

"Sev, are you pointing your wand at my Ipod? You are! Sev! Are you listening to me? SEVERUS SNAPE! DON'T YOU DARE CURSE MY IPOD!"

Lol! There you go, Harry and the Ipod! Hope you enjoyed it! If I get enough reviews I might even do what happened the next day hint hint :D Tell me what you think!


	4. Harry and the Ipod Part 2

Hey! Wanted to get this out before I read HP and the DH. I have a really bad feeling about Sev……..Please tell me what you think! Dedicated to L2SET! Thank you for your kind review!

Harry Potter woke up early on a Sunday. He rolled over; expecting to feel a warm body against his but encountered a cold pillow instead. That's strange. It was Sunday. Snape never got up early on Sundays. The first time Harry had tried to wake him up, the irate man had muttered, "Crucio" and merely gone back to sleep.

So Harry let the Potions Master sleep in on Sundays. It made him sweet and pleasant to be around with. Harry snorted. Snape sweet and pleasant? Less cranky would be a better phrase to use.

Having brushed his teeth and dressed, Harry made his way to the living room. He thought maybe he could go down to visit Hagrid, after a little breakfast. And then he could go for a walk around Hogsmeade. He needed his Ipod if he was going to venture alone along the snow laden streets of Britain's only wizarding village. Now where was it?

Ah. It came back to him. Returning from flying on his broom, to find Snape with his wand on his Ipod. Like it was going o hurt him. Harry loved the man to death but he did have a tendency to overdramatisize things. Still, after he had calmed Snape down, they had proceeded to go to bed. They hadn't done a lot of sleeping, mind you, but that was neither here nor there. Where was his Ipod? Maybe Snape knew.

"Sev? Have you seen my Ipod? It's the dangerous object you were almost going to curse yesterday."

Snape didn't appear to hear him, so engrossed was he in the Daily Prophet.

"Sev, why are you reading that? It's a bunch of crap and you know it."

Still no reply. Harry was growing worried now.

"Sev, can you hear me? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Now very concerned, Harry marched dup to the Potion's master and shook his shoulders violently.

"Sev, what is the matter with you? Is that my Ipod? Are you listening to my Ipod??!!

R&R!

Ps- 7 more hours for me!!!!!!!!!


	5. Quack the Duck

Written for the drabble contest on the Hideaway. Hope you guys like it!

"Potter."

"Severus."

"There is a duck on the table."

"Fancy that."

"Potter, why is there a duck on the table?"

There was a pause.

"That is an excellent question."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Potter?"

"Yes?"

"WHY IS THERE A DUCK ON THE DINNER TABLE?" Snape blew a fuse.

"Sev, you don't have to shout! Honestly………"

"THESE ARE MY QUARTERS! I WILL SHOUT IF ………"

"QUACK!"

"HOW DARE YOU INTERUPT ME, YOU CROW!"

"It didn't do anything!"

"IT INTERRUPTED ME!"

"It's not a big deal Sev!"

"THE WRETCHED CHICKEN INTERRUP………"

"QUACK!"

"COME BACK HERE, YOU BLASTED PIGEON! "

"SEV! Don't kill the duck! Sev!"

Soon, the orderly quarters were transformed into a whirlwind of chaos, curses and feathers as Snape chased the bird, Harry chased Snape and the bird ran around, dodging both Seeker and Potions Master.

"YOU LITTLE……….."

"QUACK!"

"CEASE YOUR QUACKING, YOU INFERNAL PARROT!"

"QUACK!"

"I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO QUACK ABOUT!"

Suddenly the bird took flight and exited the chambers through an open window, but not before leaving behind a souvenir of his visit. Right on Snape's head.

"Sev. I'm so sorry ……………" Harry was doubled over, trying not o laugh, tears leaking out the corner of his eyes.

"Explain the duck."

"Oh. Well, Hermione loved the Golden Goose Story and Ron wanted to give her the duck as a present and I somehow wound up taking care of it until next week…………." Harry trailed off at the murderous look on Snape's face and gulped nervously.

"Oh, come on, Sev, it's not that bad! I mean, look at the bright side! You don't have any excuse for not washing your hair!"

"I'm going to give you 5 seconds head start."

"Huh?"

"3 seconds."

"Yikes!" Harry took off running. Best to get away until Sev cooled off. He needed to find the duck too.


	6. Quack the Duck Part 2

"Hey Sev, what are you doing?"

Snape, who had been poised over a cauldron, methodically adding ingredients to a simmering mixture, raised an eyebrow and gave him the infamous Snape glare.

"What does it look like I'm doing, brat?"

"It looks like you're making a potion."

"Your powers of observation never cease to astonish me."

Harry ignored that sarcastic remark and instead began to walk around Snape's potions lab, poking his nose into every nook and cranny. Snape paid him no heed, by now used to his young lover's constant curiosity. Most likely the inquisitive brat had gotten bored and wandered down to the dungeons. He probably wanted the attention of Hogwart's resident Potions Master.

But Snape wasn't going to fall for it this time. He was sick of being berated by Poppy about restocking her medicinal potions later than usual. The Haler had an uncanny knack of making the scary Severus Snape feel like a sniffling, snot-nosed First year.

After all, he could hardly tell the elderly school nurse that the real reason he wasn't submitting his potions as speedily as before was that the 21 year old Gryffindor staying in his quarters was indefatigable and needed to be entertained at all times, lest he go _looking_for trouble.

Well, he could, Snape thought with an evil grin, but he might give the poor, unsuspecting woman a heart attack. Especially if he described in detail _how_he kept the boy occupied. That information, might even kill her outright.

Snape was brought out of his sinister musings (Of course they're sinister! What do you expect? He's a Slytherin! Who cares if the war is over?) by Harry who had opened his very distracting mouth.

"Quack?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at the boy. What in the name of Merlin?

"Quack?"

There he went again. Perhaps the boy had been confounded. His pupils weren't dilated. It had to be something else.

"Quack?"

That wretched parrot! It must have infected the boy with its weirdness. Harry was probably going to transform into a full blown bird in a couple of hours. Snape's mind went into overdrive, trying to make a list of cures. His brain failed him, turning up no such list.

"Sev, have you seen Quack?"

At lest the boy cold still form halfway coherent sentences. But even those trailed off into gibberish, chicken talk.

"Quack? Quack?"

Merlin, it was progressing. Hat could Snape do?

"Potter."

"Sev."

"Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

Harry looked at Snape, wondering what was wrong.

Snape looked at Harry, wondering what was wrong.

"So, about Quack?"

"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey, Harry…."

"What? Why? I feel perfectly fine….Quack?"

"You are obviously not fine, Potter! What about those Quacks?"

"Quack? Quack!"

"See!"

"Yes, I do see Quack! There he is!"

"What?"

"Look Sev! Quack!"

"STOP MAKING THAT BLASTED SOUND!"

"What sound? Here Quack! Why are you yelling?"

"THAT SOUND! WHY ARE YOU QUACKING!"

"I'm not quacking!"

"YES YOU ARE! You KEEP SAYING………QUACK!"

"No! No, Quack, don't do that! Don't……….."

But Harry's warning had come too late. The duck had appeared out of nowhere and dropped a little 'package' into Snape's potion. As soon as the poop came into contact with the bubbling liquid, the concoction exploded directly into Snape's face, coating him with a thick green slime.

"Oh no……"

"Indeed," Snape menacingly spoke, reaching up with one hand to wipe the slime off his face. He glared at the duck who had the nerve to perch itself on Harry's shoulder. Snape could have sworn that the blood chicken was laughing at him.

"Sev, stay calm, ok?"

"Calm?"

"Yes, calm."

"CALM?"

"Err...yes?"

"CALM! YOU WANT ME TO STAY CALM!"

"Sev!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL IT!"

"SEV! I won't let you hurt Quack!"

"MOVE!"

"Sev! Please! If you love me, you'll calm down."

After a few minutes…………

"Wow, I didn't expect that to work. I love you too, Sev."

"QUACK!"

"THAT'S IT! AVADA…………"

"SEV!"

"QUACK!"

Hey guys! I'm back! I hope you like it! This lil fic was inspired by my Bf, who read the first part of the duck and he loved it so much that he begged me to write a follow up. And he hates fan fiction too! Anyways, the obvious questions things are something that him and I do. The first time we met, I was carrying a HP book and he looks at me and asks, "So, you read harry potter?" Yeah, you can just imagine my face. LOL Anyways! Tell me what you think! I need feedback, PLZZZZZZZZ! Also, prompts or challenges could really help. Give me any scenario and I'll put harry and Snape into it and see what comes up! R&R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	7. Snowball Fight!

Winter Wonderings

Dedicated to L2SET

"Sev! It's snowing!"

Snape looked up from his book (something boring, no doubt) and looked at his young partner. He vaguely nodded and then went back to his book, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Sev! Come on!"

The Potions Master mumbled something that Harry barely heard, "Come on where?"

"Outside!"

There was no response from the Potions master.

"Severus!"

"What are you shrieking about now?"

"Let's go outside! Please?"

"Merlin, why?"

Harry stomped his foot on the ground, reminding Snape of a little boy having a tantrum. He opened his mouth to tell the Gryffindor just that when the boy whined again.

"To see the snow!"

Snape glanced to his right, where a very large window was located and looked down at the snow laden landscape of Hogwarts. He gave Harry a look.

"I can see it perfectly from here, thank you."

"But don't you want to feel it?"

"_Feel _the snow? The _cold, wet_ snow? No, not really."

"Sev, just come on! Please! You don't have to do anything. Just sit somewhere and watch if you want."

Snape frowned, his dark eyebrows creasing. He was going to say no.

"You can even read your book if you want," Harry threw out, in a last desperate attempt.

The eager, pleading expression in those sinful green eyes finally caused Snape to cave and he grabbed his winter cloak as he exited the library, where he had been researching Egyptian Toxins. Due to the snow, no student had been in the library, or they would have been quite surprised, seeing their two professors bicker like an old married couple.

Snape sat down on a stone bench and watched his lover gambol around in the snow, engaging the nearby students in building a snowman. They were at first wary to come anywhere near the feared Potions Master but their favourite professor's easy smile and the fact that Snape was deeply engrossed in his book persuaded them. Soon Harry and several students were making a large snowman.

Snape occasionally looked up and smirked slightly at the sight of his boy playing nicely with all the other boys and girls.

The snowman looked a little different from the conventional one though. The eyes were coals, but thick eyebrows had been spelled above them. The mouth was a small straight black line, clearly not a smile. Even the shape of the snowman was not the usual. Instead of a jolly, fat figure, the snowman was tall and slightly imposing, with a lean body. But most prominent was the nose, which had been made with a carrot that was bent strangely. As if it was hooked.

In fact the snowman looked almost like…………………Potter was so dead.

The angry Potions Master glared at the grinning Boy Who Was Going To Die and then turned his frowning face on the students who had also conspired against him. Taking down a mental list of their names (He had a feeling that they would be competing against Potter's previous detentions record), his clever Slytherin mind began plotting of ways to make their life hell. A devious scheme took shape and Snape grinned evilly, the very sight of the scary smile causing several girls to whimper in fright.

Whipping his wand out, he quickly cast a spell on the inanimate snowman. The Snape replica made out of snow immediately began to pounce on the shocked students, attacking them with curses and mocking words. Harry tried in vain to catch it, but the lively creature evaded him and began to chase a terrified Hufflepuff across the grounds. Soon the small area was abandoned, except for Snape, who was still sitting on the bench and Harry who was giving his lover an exasperated expression.

"What was that for?"

"That was for mocking me in front of my students."

"Oh, come on, it was funny!"

"Perhaps to you, but not in my opinion," Snape ground out in a snide tone, going back to his book.

Realizing that he might have gone a little overboard, Harry wisely kept his mouth shut. His Gryffindor brain tried desperately to think of a way to apologize to the angry man. An idea popped into his head and Harry threw himself on the ground, wincing slightly at the sensation of the freezing snow covered floor coming into contact with his clothes. He spread-eagled himself on the ground and began to make a snow angel.

"Sev! Look!"

Snape ignored him. He had felt rather wounded at how Harry had unwittingly laughed at him along with his students. He had always felt that the boy was ashamed of having him as a partner.

The fact was that Harry was the Wizarding world's hero, with his dashing good looks and sunny persona and Snape was the complete opposite. Plus, Harry was so much younger compared to him. Snape couldn't help but doubt Harry's promises of staying with him.

Someday the boy would wake up and see Snape clearly and he would be disgusted. And then he would leave, taking with him the Potions Master's broken heart. But Snape would never voice his fears. No, he buried them deep inside, not wanting to show the real him to the world.

"Sev, please?"

He could never resist the boy's pleas. Snape looked up to see Harry on the floor, over an imprint of a shape made in the snow.

"I'm an angel, see!"

"Yes you are," Snape agreed, silently whispering, his eyes taking in the rosy cheeked exuberance and snowflake covered dark eyelashes, framing those beautiful green eyes.

"What was that, Severus?"

"I said, I wish."

Harry scrambled off the ground and gave Snape a big, sloppy kiss on his hooked nose.

And just like that, all Snape's misgivings dissipated.

"I'm sorry. I didn't really think before I did that. Forgive me?"

Severus Snape knew that the boy didn't have a single malicious bone in his body. But there was something very Slytherin about the way harry manipulated him into saying things he shouldn't say.

"You're forgiven, brat."

He didn't like his mouth. It didn't seem to listen to his brain. Then Harry leaned forward and kissed, long and deep.

He liked his mouth. It was doing the most delicious things to Harry's. Until the boy broke away and ran back in to the snow.

Sighing and muttering about the short attention span of Gryffindors, Snape turned back to his book, intent on finishing it before Harry returned and broke his concentration away again.

"PLOP!"

Snape vaguely registered that something cold and wet was dripping down the side of his face and onto his book. Merlin, his book! Snape quickly cast a cleaning charm on it and then inspected it for any damages. After having ascertained that it was intact, he looked up, ebony eyes scanning the grounds for the miserable miscreant.

Potter.

That little sod had actually thrown a snowball at him.

Him. Severus Snape. Ex-Death Eater and King of Snark .

Potter was so dead.

"You know what this means, Potter?" Snape casually asked, only his tone belying the seriousness of the situation. He gingerly set the book down on the stone bench and calmly got up, adjusting his cloak and fingering his wan.

"What, my cranky love?"

"This means WAR!"

And Snape began to attack is lover with hundreds of magicked snowballs. Harry laughed in delight and responded with much of the same.

Soon the two were fighting in earnest, abandoning magic and simply resorting to pelting each other with snowballs made by their hands.

The students who had previously fled for their lives had now come trickling back. The baffled students formed an odd circle around the two professors who were engaged in a fierce snowball fight. The sons of the infamous Weasley twins had started collecting bets on who would win their red hair and cheek grins prominent.

"20 galleons on Professor Potter!"

"You're an idiot! Snape's going to murder him!"

"I think Snape's gone a little mad. He's actually smiling."

"No way!"

Indeed he was, a small grin uplifting the corners of his frowning mouth, as he got harry right in the face. Harry retaliated with a snowball of his own, getting Snape right in the gut.

"Excellent, my boys! I'm so delighted that you both have gotten into the holiday spirit!"

The two stopped to look at Dumbledore himself, who had come decked in a winter ensemble of red and green in horribly clashing shade. He had little bells interwoven in his beard and was that mistletoe on his head?

"Carry on! Don't stop on my account."

Snape and Harry chose to heed the headmaster's advice for once and continued their fight.

Even Dumbledore got into the betting spirit.

"Yes. 50 galleons on Professor Snape. Thank you, my dear boy."

The fight continued, ending only with the sound of the lunch gong and the students traipsed back to the castle, still talking about the epic snowball fight.

"That was brilliant!"

"Who knew Snape could aim that well?"

"Did you see how Professor Potter dodged that one snowball?"

"No wonder he was Seeker! With those reflexes!"

"They both looked so hot!"

"Ok………."

It had been declared a draw, both men too tired to combat the point at the present time. They spelled themselves dry and began to walk back to the castle with Dumbledore.

"Splendid fight, boys! The skill you both showed was highly impressive," Dumbledore praised them.

"Thank you, sir."

"Hnn."

"Incidentally, I wanted to ask you something. A wild snowman has been seen, wreaking havoc around the castle, handing out detentions and hexing the students. It cornered Professor Trelawney in a corner of the courtyard and I believe she climbed a tree to escape it. We managed to get rid of it, but Sybill is now hysterical, refusing to come down from her perch and we haven't been able to subdue her. You boys wouldn't know anything about this would you?"

Two faces looked at the headmaster who peered over his half moon glasses at the two of them; one looked decidedly guilty, the other one was smirking evilly.

"Harry, my dear boy, what did you do now?"

"It was him! Why am I always accused first?"

"Hahah….on a tree…….haha…."

"SEV!" "Severus!"

A/N – Hey guys! This is dedicated to my favourite reviewer, L2SET Thanks for all your encouragement. This is a little late but hope you like it! REVIEWS!


	8. Sunset

The Sunset

"Sev! Where are you? Come on out! I've got a surprise for you."

An eerie sense of déjà vu crept upon Snape. He debated whether or not to hide in the nearest closet or storage space but then realised that that would be rather cowardly, akin to a certain rat that always ran away. But he wasn't really fleeing was he?

However, it could be considered a strategic retreat, couldn't it? Yes, that was it. The clever Slytherin was merely biding his time until the pesky Gryffindor went away and hopefully forgot about dragging his older lover into whatever insane, half-baked plan he had thought up now.

Snape dimly registered that he was starting to sound like a particular snake-faced bastard, as he wiped his hands on a towel and swiftly cast a temporary statis charm on the potion he had been slaving away at. He would return to it as soon as the brat gave up his search and left the quarters.

The Potions Master made his way towards his supply closet post haste and had placed his hand above the handle when the door flung open and an exuberant Gryffindor came tumbling through, hair in a disarray (when wasn't it?) and green eyes glowing.

"Sev! Hi! Why is your head inside the closet?"

"I was just retrieving an ingredient. May I help you?"

"What ingredient?"

"A…..bezoar."

"Oh, you're counteracting a poison? But isn't that Dreamless Sleep Potion you're making?"

"What, the Potions Master can't experiment now?"

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it Sev. There's no need to get all snippy…."

"What did you want?"

"Huh?""

"You came in for a reason…………."

"Yes."

Snape waited.

"Well, what was it?"

"Oh, right! I have a surprise for you! Come on, it's outside!"

"I confess that I am slightly wary to venture outside with you," Snape stated, steepling his elegant fingers together and offering the brat a sardonic look.

"That was like one time and I already apologized for it. Now will you just trust me?" Harry gave his lover an exasperated look, holding out his hand.

Snape hesitated.

"You don't trust me." Harry's lower lip trembled as his voice broke halfway through the sentence. Before the green orbs could fill with hurt and rejection, Snape immediately grabbed the boy's hand, gently clasping it in his much bigger hand.

"Of course I trust you. What a silly question. Now, out of curiosity, where are you whisking me off to?"

"You know curiosity killed the cat."

"That is something you should tell Minerva not me. Now where?"

"It's a surprise!"

"I detest surprises. Part of being a spy. A surprise is a bad thing."

"The War's been over for years. Isn't it about time you let your guard down."

"I thought I'd already let my guard down to let you in, brat."

Harry shook his head emphatically at the older man, "Yes, but more. You should allow yourself to enjoy life more."

Snape snorted to himself derisively. He then gave the boy a look that clearly said there was no way that Snape was going to spontaneously morph into Dumbledore.

"Never mind. Just come on."

The boy tugged his hand and pulled him through various corridors, passing several portraits that unabashedly stared at them in inquisitiveness. Snape glared at the ones that travelled through other portraits to follow them and they fell back, their curiosity unsatisfied.

Harry finally paused in front of a door, somewhere near the Hufflepuff corridors if Snape remembered correctly. He then gave Snape a look.

"Close you eyes."

"I think not."

"Sev! Just close them."

"All right."

"Really?"

"No!"

"Sev!"

"Fine!"

"No peeking."

"If you insist."

"I won't let you bump into a wall or anything."

"Thank you. I feel very reassured now."

Harry squinted up at the slightly taller man, not really sure if he was being sarcastic or not. Shrugging, he pulled the man through the doorway and checking to see if the Slytherin's eyes were still shut, flicked his wand.

"Ok, Sev! You can open them now."

With only a slight sigh of exasperation, Snape opened his eyes to what could only be described as a romantic meal, straight out of a movie.

They were out on a small balcony overlooking the Black Lake. A table for two had been set up with sparkling silverware and plates. A bottle of champagne was cooling in a bucket of ice and a candle had been lit.

"Do you think I'm a bloody girl or Merlin forbid, a Hufflepuff, Potter?"

Harry felt like he'd been slapped. His eyes misted over and he drew in a sharp breath, his chest constricting. He was thunderstruck.

Snape was still going on, looking at the romantic scene with an expression of scorn, "Honestly, I know we're bent, but I didn't think we were that bent."

Harry slowly lowered his head, his tears now falling freely. He wanted to block out the harsh words that he was hearing, to stop the hurtful things spewing from Snape's mouth.

"What in Merlin's name were you thinking? It's comple-…….."

That was the last straw. Harry snapped his head up and yelled at Snape, his pain evident in his voice, "What was I thinking? I was thinking of spending a pleasant evening with he man I loved. I thought it would be nice, considering that the students would be back soon and then we'd be busy with classes and marking and what not. Not to mention our other duties. We won't have a lot of time for each other so I thought we could maybe make the best of what we had. I obviously thought wrong!"

"Obviously!"

"From now on I won't put in an effort to spend time with you. I won't cook you your favorite meal. I won't watch the sun come down with you. I won't…….."

"Why would you? I never asked you to!"

"But I wanted to!"

And suddenly, Snape's anger vanished. He could no longer see the ridiculousness of the gesture nor the sappiness. All he could see was the time that Harry had put in. The energy gone in to making sure everything was perfect. The love that had gone into wanting to do it in the first place.

His throat choked up. The boy was a romantic, silly Gryffindor, but he was his romantic, silly Gryffindor. And he loved him to bits and pieces. He could deal with the girly tendencies. They were a part of Harry. And he was never letting Harry go. Ever.

As Snape looked at the flushed face, with those sinful green eyes brimming with tears, he reached out and gently wiped the damp cheeks with his thumb.

"Beautiful," he whispered, stepping closer to the boy, who now watched him warily.

"Beautiful," he repeated, louder and more forcefully this time, causing Harry to blush a deep shade of red. The boy's eyes still didn't dim though. They shone out, defiant and angry, with hurt and disappointment mixed in the emerald swirls.

An overwhelming crush of guilt crept upon Snape, who felt like the world's biggest jerk. In fact, he was the world's biggest jerk. He didn't deserve Harry.

"I love it."

"Wha…."

Snape kissed Harry, the boy's lips melting against his almost instantly, the lithe body sighing and sinking into the taller, bulkier frame. They stood there for a while, their hands loosely clasped around each other, completely engrossed in their kiss.

Snape tried to communicate all his feeling through the kiss. He poured in all his guilt and his contriteness into their lip lock and did his best to apologise to Harry in the only way he knew how.

When they finally broke away from each other, they were both panting, but this time not from anger. Snape looked down into Harry's eyes and again, felt unworthy of such grace.

"Harry, I……"

"It's okay, Sev, you don't have to say it."

"But I should."

"I know how you can make it up to me."

Snape nodded, ready to jump into the Black Lake and wrestle the Giant Squid if Harry asked him to.

"You could sit and have dinner with me."

The older man gruffly acquiesced, pretending to be put out.

"You could also watch the sunset with me while we eat dinner."

Snape sat down, popped open the bottle of champagne and began to pour them both a glass.

"You could also say Gryffindors rule."

"Don't push it."

"Sorry," Harry gave him a cheeky smile, "I couldn't resist. "

The two had an enjoyable dinner and Harry soon settled onto Snape's chest as they stretched on a blanket and proceeded to watch the sun complete its daily ritual.

"It's beautiful, isn't it Sev?"

"Indeed."

"What would you describe it as? I always thought it was a phoenix, you know, like Fawkes? The mother of all phoenixes, perhaps?"

"It looks like blood and melted cheese."

A pause.

"That was disgusting Sev."

"Live with it, Potter."

"Oh, I intend to, Professor."

And with that, Harry tackled Snape, attacking him with fleeting kisses that soon turned passionate and the sun continued it's descent into the west as the two lovers lost themselves in each other.


	9. A Very Snarry Valentine Plan A

A Very Snarry Valentines Day (Plan A)

A/N - OK, I know I've been MIA for at least 2 months. Please forgive me…RL's been way too harsh on me. Plus, I've run in to a bit of writer's block and I've been busy with my site as well. Anyone who's interested in RPGing the new generation of Hogwarts check out my profile for the link. New members needed! My first fic done from Harry's POV. Tell me if my inner Potter is ok. This is dedicated to all my faithful reviewers and especially to Guinevere McKnight, my new FF Net friend.

Harry meticulously stuck the black rose petals onto the plain white paper. He carefully twirled his wand and beautiful calligraphy appeared. The words "I love you," in flowing script now stood out on the page, the green ink gleaming. Another flick of his wand and the ink moved, tiny scales glistening in the letters as the words became a small snake, slithering across the white expanse of the card. Hissing to the snake gently, Harry critically looked the card over. A smile lit upon the Boy Savior's lips as he examined the declaration of love.

It was perfect. He just knew that Severus was going to love it!

He could envision it in his mind's eye as he left their shared quarters and swiftly walked towards the Potions Classroom. He gingerly placed the card on Snape's desk, a grin on his face as he imagined how Snape would react on seeing his Valentine's Day Card.

His lover would sit down and at first frown at the white envelope that marred his obsessively, super-organized spotless working surface. Then he would pick it up and a glare would come upon the elegant, aristocratic features. Until he opened the card.

Then his normally cold, emotionless eyes would turn warm ebony and he would do his little Snape smirk. He would then lightly place the card down on his table and continue on with his lesson, still the same, stern Potion's Master. But there would be a happy sparkle (different from Dumbledore's) in the dark orbs.

Harry smiled again, his green eyes aglow with anticipation. He couldn't wait to see his little fantasy played out. Quickly donning his Invisibility Cloak, Harry walked over to an end of the Potions Classroom. Making sure to find a good vantage point that was as far away from any cauldrons as possible (Snape was teaching Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors this morning, a lethal combination), he settled in to wait. Any minute now.

Students began to filter into the class slowly, their steps sluggish and unhurried. It was quite clear that Snape wasn't going to win Teacher of the Year Award this year. Not that he had won any year, but still.

The last student finally drifted in and took his seat right before the door banged open dramatically. Two Hufflepuffs seated in the font row promptly gasped while a Gryffindor turned pale with fear. In walked Snape, his eyes narrowed in annoyance and his black robes swishing dramatically behind him.



"What a Drama Queen," Harry thought privately, "He really does look like a bat when his robes do that swishy thing. A very cute bat, though," he swiftly amended.

Snape did a swift pivot at the front of the class, his robes whipping behind him and spoke, his deep baritone speech echoing around the dungeon classroom.

"Get your quills out," he barked, causing a student n the front to give out a little squeak of distress and upset his ink pot.

Snape menacingly walked forward and looked down his large nose at the now visibly quivering student. A truly malicious smile spread across his thin lips and he glared down at the petrified student.

"Pop Quiz."

The student almost fainted right then and there.

Shaking his head at his slightly deranged lover, Harry held his breath as Snape sat down and began to reach for a pile of papers. His hand stopped halfway and the thick eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"What in Salazar's name is this?"

A handful of students looked up while others furiously bit their nails and scribbled answers they knew were wrong. Snape flicked his wand and the card slid out of the envelope smoothly. It opened slowly as it floated up in front of Snape's face.

"What _is_ this?"

"It's a Valentine's Day Card Sir."

One brave (or in this case, foolish) Gryffindor piped up, her squeaky voice gating on Snape's already riled up nerves.

"I know what is," he spat at her, "Why is there a Valentine's Card on my desk?'

No one dared to answer him this time.

"I don't know which one of you little hellions planted this on my desk but mark my words, if I ever find out, I will make you pay. This does not amuse me in the slightest."

Snape gave the class a wincing glare and flicked his wand.

"Incendio"

The sound of the fire sparking into life and reducing the card to ashes masked the choked gasp that came from the invisible young man.



An ember from the fire landed on a Hufflepuff's hair and caught fire. 10 minutes, one soaked Hufflepuff in tears and one very pissed off Potioner, the bell mercifully rang, signaling the end of class. The students practically fled, almost tripping in their stampede to exit the classroom.

Snape himself stalked out, angry cloud of fury dominating his demeanor.

Harry sighed.

So much for Plan A.

Perhaps Plan B would work out better.


End file.
